Absolute Monarchs in Europe 589

MAIN IDEA WHY IT MATTERS NOW TERMS & NAMES

ECONOMICS During a time ofreligious and economicinstability, Philip II ruled Spainwith a strong hand.

When faced with crises, manyheads of government take onadditional economic or politicalpowers.

• Philip II• absolute

monarch

• divine right

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SETTING THE STAGE As you learned in Chapter 18, from 1520 to 1566,Suleyman I exercised great power as sultan of the Ottoman Empire. A Europeanmonarch of the same period, Charles V, came close to matching Suleyman’spower. As the Hapsburg king, Charles inherited Spain, Spain’s Americancolonies, parts of Italy, and lands in Austria and the Netherlands. As the electedHoly Roman emperor, he ruled much of Germany. It was the first time sinceCharlemagne that a European ruler controlled so much territory.

A Powerful Spanish EmpireA devout Catholic, Charles not only fought Muslims but also opposed Lutherans.In 1555, he unwillingly agreed to the Peace of Augsburg, which allowed Germanprinces to choose the religion for their territory. The following year, Charles Vdivided his immense empire and retired to a monastery. To his brother Ferdinand,he left Austria and the Holy Roman Empire. His son, Philip II, inherited Spain,the Spanish Netherlands, and the American colonies.

Philip II’s Empire Philip was shy, serious, and—like his father—deeply reli-gious. He was also very hard working. Yet Philip would not allow anyone to helphim. Deeply suspicious, he trusted no one for long. As his own court historianwrote, “His smile and his dagger were very close.”

Perhaps above all, Philip could be aggressive for the sake of his empire. In1580, the king of Portugal died without an heir. Because Philip was the king’snephew, he seized the Portuguese kingdom. Counting Portuguese strongholds inAfrica, India, and the East Indies, he now had an empire that circled the globe.

Philip’s empire provided him with incredible wealth. By 1600, Americanmines had supplied Spain with an estimated 339,000 pounds of gold. Between1550 and 1650, roughly 16,000 tons of silver bullion were unloaded fromSpanish galleons, or ships. The king of Spain claimed between a fourth and afifth of every shipload of treasure as his royal share. With this wealth, Spain wasable to support a large standing army of about 50,000 soldiers.

Defender of Catholicism When Philip assumed the throne, Europe was experi-encing religious wars caused by the Reformation. However, religious conflict wasnot new to Spain. The Reconquista, the campaign to drive Muslims from Spain,had been completed only 64 years before. In addition, Philip’s great-grandparents

Spain’s Empire and European Absolutism

Clarifying Use a chart tolist the conditions thatallowed Europeanmonarchs to gain power.

TAKING NOTES

absolute monarch

conditionsconditions

conditionsconditions

London

DoverPlymouth

Calais

La Coruña

SantanderLate September, 1588

LisbonLate May, 1588 S PA I N

F R A N C E

ENGLAND

SCOTLAND

IRELAND

SPANIS

H

NETHERLAN

DS

PORTUGAL

Bay ofBiscay

NorthSea

M e d i t e r r a n e a n S e a

EnglishChannel

ATLANTIC

OCEAN

0°

8°W

16°W

58°N

50°N

42°N

400 Kilometers 0

0 200 Miles

Route of the ArmadaRoute of the English fleetSome shipwreck sitesSpanish Hapsburg lands

Dover

Calais Gravelines

London

Plymouth Portland BillIsle of Wight

E n g l i s h C h a n n e l

E N G L A N D

FRANCE

SP.

NETH.

July 31

Aug. 2 Aug. 4Aug. 3

Aug. 8

52°N

50°N

2°W

2°E

0°4°W

Major battles

100 Kilometers 0

0 50 Miles

Defeat of the Spanish Armada, 1588

In the summer of 1588, Philip II sent about130 ships carrying 19,000 soldiers to theEnglish Channel. English warships, however,outmaneuvered the Spanish vessels andbombarded the Armada with their heavierlong-range cannons.

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GEOGRAPHY SKILLBUILDER:Interpreting Maps1. Location Off what English town did the first

clash between the Spanish Armada and theEnglish fleet take place?

2. Movement Why do you think the Spanishcaptains chose to sail north around Scotlandrather than take the more direct route homeback through the English Channel?

Isabella and Ferdinand had used the Inquisition to investigate suspected heretics, ornonbelievers in Christianity.

Philip believed it was his duty to defend Catholicism against the Muslims of theOttoman Empire and the Protestants of Europe. In 1571, the pope called on allCatholic princes to take up arms against the mounting power of the Ottoman Empire.Philip responded like a true crusader. More than 200 Spanish and Venetian shipsdefeated a large Ottoman fleet in a fierce battle near Lepanto. In 1588, Philiplaunched the Spanish Armada in an attempt to punish Protestant England and itsqueen, Elizabeth I. Elizabeth had supported Protestant subjects who had rebelledagainst Philip. However, his fleet was defeated. (See map opposite.)

Although this setback seriously weakened Spain, its wealth gave it the appear-ance of strength for a while longer. Philip’s gray granite palace, the Escorial, hadmassive walls and huge gates that demonstrated his power. The Escorial alsoreflected Philip’s faith. Within its walls stood a monastery as well as a palace.

Golden Age of Spanish Art and LiteratureSpain’s great wealth did more than support navies and build palaces. It also allowedmonarchs and nobles to become patrons of artists. During the 16th and 17th cen-turies, Spain experienced a golden age in the arts. The works of two great paintersshow both the faith and the pride of Spain during this period.

El Greco and Velázquez Born in Crete, El Greco (GREHK•oh) spent much of hisadult life in Spain. His real name was Domenikos Theotokopoulos, but Spaniardscalled him El Greco, meaning “the Greek.” El Greco’s art often puzzled the people ofhis time. He chose brilliant, sometimes clashing colors, distorted the human figure,and expressed emotion symboli-cally in his paintings. Althoughunusual, El Greco’s techniquesshowed the deep Catholic faith ofSpain. He painted saints and mar-tyrs as huge, long-limbed figuresthat have a supernatural air.

The paintings of DiegoVelázquez (vuh•LAHS•kehs), onthe other hand, reflected thepride of the Spanish monarchy.Velázquez, who painted 50 yearsafter El Greco, was the courtpainter to Philip IV of Spain. Heis best known for his portraits ofthe royal family and scenes ofcourt life. Like El Greco, he wasnoted for using rich colors.

Don Quixote The publication ofDon Quixote de la Mancha in1605 is often called the birth ofthe modern European novel. Inthis book, Miguel de Cervantes(suhr•VAN•teez) wrote about apoor Spanish nobleman who wenta little crazy after reading toomany books about heroic knights.

MakingInferences

What did Philipwant his palace todemonstrate abouthis monarchy?

Absolute Monarchs in Europe 591

▼ In LasMeninas (TheMaids of Honor),Velázquezdepicts KingPhilip IV’sdaughter andher attendants.

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Hoping to “right every manner of wrong,” Don Quixote rode forth in a rusty suit ofarmor, mounted on a feeble horse. At one point, he mistook some windmills for giants:

P R I M A R Y S O U R C EHe rushed with [his horse’s] utmost speed upon the first windmill he could come at,and, running his lance into the sail, the wind whirled about with such swiftness, that therapidity of the motion presently broke the lance into shivers, and hurled away bothknight and horse along with it, till down he fell, rolling a good way off in the field.

MIGUEL DE CERVANTES, Don Quixote de la Mancha

Some critics believe that Cervantes was mocking chivalry, the knightly code of theMiddle Ages. Others maintain that the book is about an idealistic person who longsfor the romantic past because he is frustrated with his materialistic world.

The Spanish Empire WeakensCertainly, the age in which Cervantes wrote was a materialistic one. The gold andsilver coming from the Americas made Spain temporarily wealthy. However, suchtreasure helped to cause long-term economic problems.

Inflation and Taxes One of these problems was severe inflation, which is adecline in the value of money, accompanied by a rise in the prices of goods and ser-vices. Inflation in Spain had two main causes. First, Spain’s population had beengrowing. As more people demanded food and other goods, merchants were able toraise prices. Second, as silver bullion flooded the market, its value dropped. Peopleneeded more and more amounts of silver to buy things.

Spain’s economic decline also had other causes. When Spain expelled the Jewsand Moors (Muslims) around 1500, it lost many valuable artisans and business-people. In addition, Spain’s nobles did not have to pay taxes. The tax burden fell onthe lower classes. That burden prevented them from accumulating enough wealthto start their own businesses. As a result, Spain never developed a middle class.

Making Spain’s Enemies Rich Guilds that had emerged inthe Middle Ages still dominated business in Spain. Suchguilds used old-fashioned methods. This made Spanishcloth and manufactured goods more expensive than thosemade elsewhere. As a result, Spaniards bought much ofwhat they needed from France, England, and theNetherlands. Spain’s great wealth flowed into the pockets offoreigners, who were mostly Spain’s enemies.

To finance their wars, Spanish kings borrowed moneyfrom German and Italian bankers. When shiploads of silvercame in, the money was sent abroad to repay debts. Theeconomy was so feeble that Philip had to declare theSpanish state bankrupt three times.

The Dutch Revolt In the Spanish Netherlands, Philip hadto maintain an army to keep his subjects under control. TheDutch had little in common with their Spanish rulers. WhileSpain was Catholic, the Netherlands had many Calvinistcongregations. Also, Spain had a sluggish economy, whilethe Dutch had a prosperous middle class.

Philip raised taxes in the Netherlands and took steps tocrush Protestantism. In response, in 1566, angry Protestantmobs swept through Catholic churches. Philip then sent an

IdentifyingProblems

Why didn’tSpain’s economybenefit from thegold and silver fromthe Americas?

Tulip ManiaTulips came to Europe from Turkeyaround 1550. People went wild overthe flowers and began to buy rarevarieties. However, the supply oftulips could not meet the demand,and prices began to rise. Soonpeople were spending all theirsavings on bulbs andtaking out loans so thatthey could buy more.

Tulip mania reached apeak between 1633 and1637. Soon after, tulipprices sank rapidly.Many Dutch familieslost property andwere left withbulbs that werenearly worthless.

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army under the Spanish duke of Alva to punish the rebels. On a single day in 1568,the duke executed 1,500 Protestants and suspected rebels.

The Dutch continued to fight the Spanish for another 11 years. Finally, in 1579,the seven northern provinces of the Netherlands, which were largely Protestant,united and declared their independence from Spain. They became the UnitedProvinces of the Netherlands. The ten southern provinces (present-day Belgium)were Catholic and remained under Spanish control.

The Independent Dutch ProsperThe United Provinces of the Netherlands was different from other European states ofthe time. For one thing, the people there practiced religious toleration. In addition,the United Provinces was not a kingdom but a republic. Each province had an electedgovernor, whose power depended on the support of merchants and landholders.

Dutch Art During the 1600s, the Netherlands became what Florence had been dur-ing the 1400s. It boasted not only the best banks but also many of the best artistsin Europe. As in Florence, wealthy merchants sponsored many of these artists.

Rembrandt van Rijn (REHM•BRANT vahn RYN) was the greatest Dutch artist ofthe period. Rembrandt painted portraits of wealthy middle-class merchants. Healso produced group portraits. In The Night Watch (shown below), he portrayed agroup of city guards. Rembrandt used sharp contrasts of light and shadow to drawattention to his focus.

Another artist fascinated with the effects of light and dark was Jan Vermeer(YAHN vuhr•MEER). Like many other Dutch artists, he chose domestic, indoorsettings for his portraits. He often painted women doing such familiar activities aspouring milk from a jug or reading a letter. The work of both Rembrandt andVermeer reveals how important merchants, civic leaders, and the middle class ingeneral were in 17th-century Netherlands.

In The NightWatch,Rembrandtshowed theindividuality ofeach man bycapturingdistinctive facialexpressions andpostures.

▼

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Dutch Trading Empire The stability of the government allowed the Dutch peopleto concentrate on economic growth. The merchants of Amsterdam bought surplusgrain in Poland and crammed it into their warehouses. When they heard about poorharvests in southern Europe, they shipped the grain south while prices were high-est. The Dutch had the largest fleet of ships in the world—perhaps 4,800 ships in1636. This fleet helped the Dutch East India Company (a trading company con-trolled by the Dutch government) to dominate the Asian spice trade and the IndianOcean trade. Gradually, the Dutch replaced the Italians as the bankers of Europe.

Absolutism in EuropeEven though Philip II lost his Dutch possessions, he was a forceful ruler in manyways. He tried to control every aspect of his empire’s affairs. During the next fewcenturies, many European monarchs would also claim the authority to rule withoutlimits on their power.

The Theory of Absolutism These rulers wanted to be absolute monarchs, kings orqueens who held all of the power within their states’ boundaries. Their goal was tocontrol every aspect of society. Absolute monarchs believed in divine right, the ideathat God created the monarchy and that the monarch acted as God’s representative onearth. An absolute monarch answered only to God, not to his or her subjects.

AbsolutismAbsolutism was the political belief thatone ruler should hold all the powerwithin the boundaries of a country.Although practiced by several monarchsin Europe during the 16th through 18th centuries, absolutism has beenused in many regions throughouthistory. In ancient times, Shi Huangdiin China, Darius in Persia, and theRoman caesars were all absolute rulers.(See chapters 4, 5, and 6.)

DrawingConclusions

How was Philip II typical of anabsolute monarch?

SKILLBUILDER: Interpreting Charts1. Making Inferences Why do you think

absolute rulers controlled social gatherings?See Skillbuilder Handbook, page R10.

2. Hypothesizing Today several nations of the world (such as Saudi Arabia) have absolute rulers. Judging from what youknow of past causes of absolutism, why doyou think absolute rulers still exist today?

Causes

Effects

• Religious and territorial conflicts created fear and uncertainty.

• The growth of armies to deal with conflicts caused rulers to raise taxes to pay troops.

• Heavy taxes led to additional unrest and peasant revolts.

• Rulers regulated religious worship and social gatherings to control the spread of ideas.

• Rulers increased the size of their courts to appear more powerful.

• Rulers created bureaucracies to control their countries’ economies.

ABSOLUTISM

Growing Power of Europe’s Monarchs As Europe emerged from the MiddleAges, monarchs grew increasingly powerful. The decline of feudalism, the rise ofcities, and the growth of national kingdoms all helped to centralize authority. Inaddition, the growing middle class usually backed monarchs, because theypromised a peaceful, supportive climate for business. Monarchs used the wealth ofcolonies to pay for their ambitions. Church authority also broke down during thelate Middle Ages and the Reformation. That opened the way for monarchs toassume even greater control. In 1576, Jean Bodin, an influential French writer,defined absolute rule:

P R I M A R Y S O U R C EThe first characteristic of the sovereign prince is the power to make general and speciallaws, but—and this qualification is important—without the consent of superiors, equals,or inferiors. If the prince requires the consent of superiors, then he is a subject himself;if that of equals, he shares his authority with others; if that of his subjects, senate orpeople, he is not sovereign.

JEAN BODIN, Six Books on the State

Crises Lead to Absolutism The 17th century was a period of great upheaval inEurope. Religious and territorial conflicts between states led to almost continuouswarfare. This caused governments to build huge armies and to levy even heaviertaxes on an already suffering population. These pressures in turn brought aboutwidespread unrest. Sometimes peasants revolted.

In response to these crises, monarchs tried to impose order by increasing theirown power. As absolute rulers, they regulated everything from religious worship tosocial gatherings. They created new government bureaucracies to control theircountries’ economic life. Their goal was to free themselves from the limitationsimposed by the nobility and by representative bodies such as Parliament. Only withsuch freedom could they rule absolutely, as did the most famous monarch of histime, Louis XIV of France. You’ll learn more about him in the next section.

Absolute Monarchs in Europe 595

TERMS & NAMES 1. For each term or name, write a sentence explaining its significance. • Philip II • absolute monarch • divine right

USING YOUR NOTES2. Which condition is probably

most necessary for a monarchto gain power? Why?

MAIN IDEAS3. What is the significance of

England’s defeat of the SpanishArmada?

4. Why did the Dutch revoltagainst Spain?

5. Why did absolute monarchsbelieve that they were justifiedin exercising absolute power?

SECTION ASSESSMENT1

CRITICAL THINKING & WRITING6. DRAWING CONCLUSIONS What does the art described in

this section reveal about the cultures of Spain and theNetherlands?

7. ANALYZING CAUSES What role did religion play in thestruggle between the Spanish and the Dutch?

8. MAKING INFERENCES How did the lack of a middle classcontribute to the decline of Spain’s economy?

9. WRITING ACTIVITY Write a comparison-contrast paragraph on the economies of Spain and theNetherlands around 1600.

ECONOMICS

INTERNET ACTIVITY

Use the Internet to identify the religious affiliations of people in Spainand in the Netherlands today. Create a graph for each country showingthe results of your research.

INTERNET KEYWORDreligion in Spain; religion inthe Netherlands

absolute monarch

conditionsconditions

conditionsconditions